Interest
by UnGood
Summary: Dedicating her whole life to academic performances, IA distanced herself from the world around her unknowingly, shutting herself in. Content with the small group of friends she had met through her sister, IA were still oblivious to her surroundings. That all changed when a certain girl opened her eyes and doors to opportunities beyond just "Friendship"


**Chapter 1 – Offbeat**

* * *

 **VOCALOID and its other affiliated programs belongs to its respectful owners and I own no part of it.**

It was afterschool, when most students would shuffle their way home, or put their time on extra activities, clubs, IA Akasaka decided to stay in class, and review the materials she had learned today. With dark headphones covering her ears, and her head lightly bobbing in tune, she copied the notes she had written into a neater handwriting. She was being extremely meticulous. IA had decided long ago, that, if she was ever going to read her own notes, she wanted it to be as organized as it could be. It was a necessity to her studies.

Thus, she would put up a schedule of 15-30 minutes to herself, rewriting the notes she had scribbled during class on separate books. Her hand worked on perfect, trained movements, speeding up the entire process.

A light tap to her shoulder snapped her out of her trance, turning her attention. She tilted her head upwards, and rested her headphones on her shoulders, off her ears.

"ONE? It hasn't been too long, has it? Please wait a bit longer," She pleaded towards her sister.

Unlike IA, whose image was a reserved and quiet bookworm, ONE's personality screamed of an outgoing tomboy. Her hair was cut short above her shoulders, a contrast to her sister's long ones. Her build was a slight bit smaller, yet taller, and had more firm to it. Her blue eyes held strong passion, as opposed to IA's intelligent one. People often compare between the two, but they never felt bothered by it. The both of them got along just fine, and that was the most important thing between them.

The smaller girl shook her head in denial, "Not that, I'm fine with waiting. Just that, someone wanted to meet you outside."

IA's eyes widened from surprise and fear.

"Look, it's just a girl, it won't be a random confession or something, she just said she wanted to talk to you," ONE explained rather bluntly, scoffing at her own small joke, "I can ask her to wait a bit more, if you really need me to, I just felt bad about making her wait."

Hearing the explanation, IA sighed.

She took a glance towards her desk, and back at ONE. She supposed she could go now, she only had one or two pages left to write. It was not as if she _couldn't_ continue it at home.

"Why do you need to do these at school, again?" ONE had somehow read her mind.

"It's to serve as a wind-down, you know? After a whole day of school…" IA mumbled quickly, her hands occupied with tidying her things and shoving her headphones to her bag. She lifted her bag from the desk, and turned to ONE.

"Yeah, a wind-down before another session of studying at home," ONE snorted in response, her back turned to her sister as she began walking towards the door.

IA frowned, "Yeah, that's why I do it at school, because I'll be studying at home."

"You're missing my point…"

When they both walked out of the classroom, a girl, taller than the small IA, meaning average height, stood beside the door with a smile.

The girl extended a hand, "Yukari, Yukari Yuzuku."

IA took her hand and mumbled her own name, exchanging smiles.

The girl had long, lavender hair that tied into two low pigtails, a round hairclip keeping her bangs from obstructing her view. Her eyes were a soft purple, its gaze giving off an aura that makes IA feel at ease, the small anxiety she felt quickly dissipating. The girl wore a black hoodie on top of her uniform, and her bag hung from her right shoulder.

"Um, you wanted to talk to me?" IA's voice sounded a bit too hesitant to her liking. She cringed inwardly, swearing to work on her social skills whenever she had the chance.

"Ah yes," Yukari scratched the back of her head, turning rather bashful, "It's, um."

IA tilted her head to the side.

"IA, please go out with me!"

* * *

IA groaned into her pillow, disrupting the other room's occupant. ONE threw a pillow across the other side of the room, where her sister had been grumbling on her bed, wishing it would shut her sister up. "You've been doing that for the past few hours, please, stop," ONE complained.

IA raised her head from the pillow and glared, "You jinxed it, earlier."

The both of them went silent for a while, with ONE thinking to herself. She sank back to her seat, averting her eyes from IA, staring into nothing in particular. She mumbled, "Well, yeah, I guess I did."

"But, look-"

"And it's easier for you to say, since you've had a lot of these before, haven't you?" IA was not in the mood to hold back her tongue, letting her thoughts flow freely as a small act of throwing a tantrum.

"I'd be lying if I say no," ONE sighed in defeat, "But that's just because you give off an aura of hard to approach!"

IA's glare fell, and her eyes narrowed, demanding an explanation.

"A _lot_ of people talk about you, or sometimes wishes they could be closer to you," ONE started explaining, gesturing her hands as an emphasis of her words, "I mean, who wouldn't? A long haired beauty with a knack to studies, almost always perfect grades, and favored by the teacher."

IA's heart seemed to skip a beat with each words ONE blurted, not expecting such a reputation of herself. Her mouth was slightly agape, and she stared with slight disbelief.

"But you just always have that serious look on you, and it makes you seem…" ONE took a deep breath, "Impassive, cold, uncaring; the list goes on…"

She took a sharp intake of breath after her sister's last sentence, a mix of strong emotions swirling in her chest. It pained her that she was seen as something so apathetic, but she knew, it was something she brought upon herself. She also felt a small tug of happiness in it, knowing that the people around her _did_ like her, if she would just reach out to them. Maybe if she didn't bury her nose in books all day, and paid more attention to her surroundings.

"You're plenty of popular, IA, you've just built a large wall around yourself that not a lot of people think they could climb over," ONE said again with a soft smile.

IA sighed, and slumped her head into the pillow once more, "But then, how do I deal with this confession thing, when I barely have anyone approach me for friendship?" Her grumbling was back, and muffled by the pillow, almost inaudible, but ONE could still hear her almost clearly.

ONE shrugged, "Just say that you're not interested in a relationship."

"Yeah, thanks Ms. Popular,"

"No problem, Ms. Anti-social,"

"God you're so full of yourself,"

ONE snorted, "And you love me for it."

"I do," IA lifted her head, and sat up, pulling the pillow close to her chest, "Really though, thank you, ONE." She sighed again, mumbling softly to herself, "For at least, being here for me."

ONE blinked a couple of times, "Don't be so sentimental."

"Yeah…" IA trailed on her thoughts, pulling up her smartphone. Her eyes seemed vacant as she absent-mindedly fiddled with her phone.

ONE, who had never seen her sister being this distracted, stared at her in confusion. She shook her head and decided to turn back to her desk and homework, silently wishing for her sister to pull through the situation and regain her composure.

IA scrolled through her contact list, looking for someone that would be willing to listen to her worries. Paying closer attention to her list of friends, she noticed that all of it were friends she had met through ONE. Somehow, she felt incredibly self-conscious for it. Was she actually that socially inept?

She mentally shook her head, trying to shake off her thoughts.

Her finger hovered over a certain contact. Gumi Nakajima, a senior of ONE in the track club, though that would mean the same year as IA. Gumi was outgoing and caring, she guessed she could try talking to her. She opened up a chat platform and started typing a message.

 _Hey, Gumi? Can we talk, for a bit? I need your help._

She sighed and stared at the screen as she waited, boring a hole through it. Her mind payed potential scenarios of their talk. If worst comes to worst, Gumi would be unwilling to help her, and she would be forced to think on this new ordeal by herself, and sorted her confliction emotions in her chest. IA doubted she could do that, and if it continued, she would be unable to focus on her studies. Just like today, how she couldn't finish her postponed notes.

All just because of a single sentence.

The phone in her hand let out a quiet ting, and vibrated against her skin. Despite staring at it intently, IA had been so deep in thought that she didn't notice the new message from Gumi.

 _IA? That's rare, at this hour too. Is something wrong? I'm worried now._

 _Hello? IA?_

 _Are you here?_

 _You're not in trouble, are you?_

IA widened her eyes. She had not only missed a message, but four new messages.

 _Yes, I'm here, sorry, I was distracted._

 _You? Distracted? You better tell me what's wrong._

IA smiled at the message, warmed by Gumi's care. She was grateful they had been friends, and that ONE was under her care in her club.

 _Do you know Yukari Yuzuki?_

 _That cute, cheerful girl? Yeah, she's my classmate. Did she do something?_

IA frowned, surprised that they were classmates, though relieved that it would be easier for her to explain. She began typing furiously, pouring out her thoughts and emotions into the message. The fear that had dulled during her small talk with ONE resurfaced. The fear of going through something new. She tried her best to suppress the choking feeling of confusion in her throat, frustration piling up.

 _And now, I just don't know what to do, what to feel_.

As she ended her burst of messages, IA took a deep, shaky breath. Gulping down the lump in her throat. She never felt this emotional over something before. She was so afraid.

ONE, who had been trying her best to not notice her sister's obvious distress, stole a glance. Her eyebrows furrowed with worry, and she held the urge to hug her sister.

 _Wow, I've never seen you like this before._

 _It's scary, Gumi._

 _I bet it is. When you've been spending most of your time to yourself, and suddenly this girl you don't know just confessed to you, I can understand your fear._

IA breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing the shoulders that had been tense without her noticing. She buried the lower part of her face to the pillow she had been hugging. Her eyes continued to linger at her phone screen.

 _Tell you what, tomorrow, I'll properly introduce you to her._

"WHAT?!" ONE jumped, and winced, at IA's sudden shout. IA, too caught up with her talk through the phone, didn't notice ONE's glued stare.

 _Yukari is a kind girl, she's popular around the class, nothing bad would happen, IA._

IA groaned, burying her face further into the pillow. Her heart was beating faster from anxiety. She felt like it would be a bad idea, because she would not know how to act around her. It would be awkward, she thought. Nevertheless, IA trusted her friend, so she answered with her best 'Okay'.

"Huh?"

A pair of arms had wrapped itself around her from her side. She glanced up, and saw a look of worry clearly spread across her sister's face. IA froze, unused to ONE's display of affection.

"Sorry, you just looked so vulnerable," the girl whispered lowly, "I wanted to reassure you."

With those words, IA melted into her sister's touch, a warm feeling rising in her chest, overwhelming the negative ones. She sent a short sentence to Gumi, excusing herself and explaining the pleasant surprise, and set it aside to the nightstand close to her bed. She returned the hug, and whispered a small thank you.

"Still though, you're a bit overreacting from a simple confession,"

IA chuckled at ONE's blunt remark, "You're right, I'm sorry."

"I'll try to be more cool-headed, tomorrow," She whispered, "The rush was just, getting to me, earlier,"

"Mm,"

"We should head to bed soon, ONE,"

"Mm," They untangled from their hug, and prepared themselves for a good night's rest.

The screen of IA's phone flashed a light, a notification of message popping on it.

 _Good night, IA, ONE._

* * *

IA walked along the pavement with both of her hands shoved into the pockets of her coat. Winter was approaching, and the temperature had begun to drop. She promised to herself to wear a pair of gloves the next time she goes out.

Her black headphones hung lazily around her neck, the volumes turned up so she could listen to it. She hummed lowly, her pace regulated.

"Hey, IA," A soft touch on her shoulder made her heart jump.

The events from the day before, though it had dulled overtime, made her hypersensitive to her surroundings. Her heart hammering against her chest, alert with swirling thoughts of Yukari's words. The music played by her ear sounded like a buzz in her brain, making her all the more frantic. She chanted mentally, repeatedly, that the one that asked for her attention was not said girl.

To her relief, it was one of her friends. She held a hand over her chest, trying to calm down her frantic heart. She sighed.

"Um, IA? You okay?"

The girl next to her was SeeU, a long-haired blonde that was in the same class as her. Ironically, the both of them met through ONE, who was approached by her sister's classmates while waiting for IA to finish her note writing. It was rather awkward at first, but they got along pretty quickly.

Incidentally, SeeU was the first one to approach ONE, asking for who she was waiting for. To which SeeU reacted with beaming eyes from the answer. Apparently, SeeU had been looking up to IA since their first years. Much to ONE's discomfort, that meant bombardment of questions about her sister. After the initial burst, ONE suggested to actually talking to the person herself. Which led them to today.

Normally, it would be the elder sister introducing her classmates to her younger sister, but in their case, it was the reverse. IA was so out of loop that she barely knew any of her classmates, aside from names. It was a wonder she managed to get through school purely from studious attitude.

" _IA, this is SeeU, your classmate,"_

" _Ah, yeah, hello. Wait, what?"_

IA shuddered from the memory, had she always been like that? Perhaps. It _would_ explain her lack of friends, and social abilities.

"Uh, hellooo? Earth to IA?" IA snapped out of her thoughts, shaking her head furiously. She turned towards the girl and put up the best smile she could muster.

"Good morning, SeeU,"

"Good morning, you seem out of it," SeeU asked, turning back to IA as the both of them walked towards the school.

"Ah, I was just…" She trailed off from her words, mind swirling with jumbled thoughts.

' _That's right, I have the future to worry about… why bother with something I can't change anymore?'_ She thought absentmindedly.

"Nothing, just thinking of what to do today," It was half-truth, but truth nonetheless. Her heart had sped up slightly from playing scenarios of future to come, but the speed was controlled. It wasn't wild like she was panicking, it was just fast due to anticipation.

IA sighed, lowering her head slightly, "Gumi talked to me about your ramblings, last night," SeeU had suddenly said.

"Nervous?" IA nodded slightly at the question.

"Considering how awkward it was when we first met, I can't imagine how it'd go, meeting someone like that," Her sentence as quiet and low, barely audible. But from how close they were walking together, SeeU could still hear her friend clearly.

She chuckled, patting the back of her deflated friend. She put up a reassuring smile, and they fastened their pace, not really wanting to be late for school.

"So, I don't see ONE anywhere," SeeU stated, rather curious with the absence of her clingy sister –as much as said clingy sister refused to believe it.

"Ah, she went ahead for morning practice," IA smiled fondly, "She's such an energetic girl."

"A complete opposite of you, I should still say," Her remark was followed by an amused snort. IA's smile grew wider, silently agreeing with her friend.

IA's phone vibrated in her coat's pocket. She slipped it out, and looked at the screen. One new message from Gumi, she thought. She wondered what it could be and opened it.

 _Hey, IA, I was thinking of introducing you two early today._ IA's eyes narrowed at the message, a question popping up in her head.

 _How_ early _?_ She sent the message, and her eyes flickered back to SeeU, staring at IA's phone curiously. IA shrugged, not minding the extra pair of eyes staring at her phone.

Not long after, a reply came, _Right now._

"IA! SeeU!" A familiar voice called out to them. They both lifted their head and stared at the girl standing in front of the school gates.

There, Gumi stood, wearing a coat of her own and a green scarf around her neck. The girl's hair was still wild as ever, almost untamed, the longer strands of it hung in front of her chest. She held her phone in her hand, and waved towards them with her free hand.

IA shoved her phone back into her coat's pocket, and with SeeU, walked towards the gate. They both waved back at the enthusiastic greenhead.

When they got closer, however, it was apparent that Gumi was not standing alone. Yukari stood next to her, though with less enthusiasm, waved at SeeU and IA. IA froze in her tracks, a frown forming on her lips. The anxiousness she felt from yesterday crashing back to her in small waves. IA shook her head lightly, and the both of them approached the gate.

"Good morning Gumi, and…?" SeeU started, feigning obliviousness towards the lavender-haired girl. She extended her hand, offering a handshake towards the girl.

Yukari smiled, taking SeeU's hand gratefully and shook their hands. She offered a friendly smile, "Yukari, Yukari Yuzuku," She introduced quickly. The both of them exchanged words, talking casually with one another, getting to know each other better. While SeeU occupied Yukari's attention, and the nervous wreck left alone, Gumi grabbed her arm.

"So?" Gumi asked ambiguously, IA lifted an eyebrow at the question.

Gumi chuckled, "Are you nervous?"

"Is it not obvious enough?"

"Right, right, jeez, don't be so sarcastic," Gumi chuckled again, her hand waving dismissively.

"Yukari," Gumi called out to the girl to get her attention.

Yukari turned her attention to Gumi, but soon her gaze fell to the pale haired girl beside Gumi. She smiled fondly, admiring the smaller girl in front of her. IA lightly blushed from the stare, her feet shifting from nervousness. Gumi cleared her throat, suppressing a smirk.

"Let's start over," She started, moving between Yukari and IA. SeeU merely watched from the side, silent excitement bubbling inside her chest.

"IA, this is my friend, and classmate, Yukari Yuzuku," Gumi said, gesturing towards Yukari, "Yukari, IA Akasaka, my underclassman's sister,"

Yukari stepped closer and extended a hand, "Well, let's start with being friends."

A giggle erupted from IA's lips, feeling less tense and awkward from Yukari's words. She stepped closer and accepted Yukari's hand, "A pleasure to meet you, Yukari."

Yukari brightened from IA's soft giggle, "The pleasure is all mine," her eyes beaming with happiness. Both of their hands slackened, though their smile pertains and they still stared at each other.

Yukari suddenly frowned, her eyes narrowing. She inched even closer towards IA, closing her eyes. The other girl's face quickly flushed, her ears red from the small distance between her face and Yukari's. Her mouth agape, and her voice refused to sound. She panicked from the sudden closeness, and she did not dare move her hands or push away the girl. Gulping, IA gathered the small courage she had, squeaking out her meek voice.

"U-um, Yu-"

"Ah! I got it!"

Yukari, as sudden as she had drawn herself close, pulled back quickly. Her frown disappeared without a trace, replaced by a wide smile. She stared innocently at the blushing pale-haired girl, excitement evident. She clapped her hands together, "It's Hatsune Miku!"

"E-excuse me?" IA stared in bewilderment, her blush not much less visible.

Yukari simply giggled, and she pointed at the headphones that had been hanging around IA's neck. Music still obviously blaring, IA's eyes widened from shock on how she could have forgotten about the device. Judging from Yukari's words, she was able to pick up the music playing with their distance.

"Y-yes, but," IA quickly blurted out, her mouth was wide agape at a loss of words, and began to fumble with her pockets, trying to look for her phone to turn off the music.

IA caught Yukari's giggle once she managed to turn off the blaring music, she could feel her face heating up further from the blush. "You're cute when you're nervous, IA," And Yukari's words were not helping her calm down. It fastened the pace of her beating heart, its rhythmical beat thumping loudly against her chest. She cursed silently, averting her eyes from the blunt girl in front of her.

IA took a glance at Gumi and SeeU, who had been watching from the sidelines. SeeU held a hand over her mouth, stifling a squeal from witnessing the interactions between the girls. Gumi was facing away, a tint of pink on her cheeks. Taking a glance towards her other friends was a mistake, as she felt extremely self-conscious afterwards.

Gumi was the one that broke the rather awkward situation with a clear of her throat, her arms linked with Yukari to drag the joyful girl away from IA. SeeU approached IA, her hand pushing the other girl as they all started walking, an encouraging smile plastered on her face. "Well, we should head to class," Gumi voiced the sentence the four of them would agree on, heading towards their separate classroom.

The walk was mostly filled with silence between the four of them, forcing IA to calm her frantic heartbeat on her own. She held a hand towards her chest, her eyes gazing absent-mindedly at the back of the girl that caused it.

"So, what do you think of the introductions?" SeeU said in a low whisper, only audible to the both of them as they walked through the hallways, "Better than ours?"

IA could hear the hint of amusement at the blonde's last sentence, but she decided to ignore it. She was silent for a while, contemplating her words, "Unhealthy for my heart," She decided as she could still feel the very apparent beating of her heart.

SeeU giggled, "Do you not like it?"

IA lowered her head, her stare glued to the tiles of the floor, a frown forming on her. Her thoughts swirled confusingly, _'Do I…?'_

She shook her head and shifted her attention forward once more, watching Yukari's flowing hair in front of her. The girl's face seemed to radiate happiness from her own conversation with Gumi, and IA could not help but hold no animosity towards the lavender-head –despite her intrusiveness earlier. "I don't know…" IA managed to whisper breathily, her voice sounding distant.

SeeU smiled thinly, a hand ruffling at the top of her smaller friend's hair, "You would soon learn to know, IA."

IA hoped so, because the mixed and confusing feelings filling her head was too overwhelming for her. She was not too excited with this new experience.

* * *

 **Notes :**

 **\- ONE is the second Voice Bank released under 1** **st** **Place's "Aria on the Planetes" project, and thus making her IA's younger sister.**

 **\- Incidentally, their actual year gap of release is 3 or 4 years**

 **\- ONE is not a VOCALOID, and is a CEVIOLOID, a program designed for speech and singing.**

This IA is basically me.

Anyways, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but after seeing how much I've written for this supposedly small scene, I decided to chop it off into few parts. I do not know how long it would be, but I suppose it won't be _too_ long. I wrote half of this part with an interval, if you noticed a decrease in quality halfway reading, I sincerely apologize.

I started writing this with an idea of a cold and rather heartless IA pushing away a very clingy Yukari, but it had became like this. A story of a girl trying to understand her feelings. I suppose I don't mind, and a very flustered IA is cute too.

UnGood, out.


End file.
